Engine sputter question.

[dburton07]

Will the engine sputter and stall and not stay running if it is too low on oil??

Yesterday my truck ran like complete ass. It would sputter like crazy, stall, and eventually not stay running at all. Later in the day I checked the oil and it was showing a quart low, but there was no check oil light. I added a quart and it started up fine. Is there a sensor or somthing that can tell when it is too low on oil and wont let the truck run??? Thanks guys


Dan

 

[GMWIGGS]

I don't think there is a sensor to detect low oil level in the pan, but you do have a sensor (oil pressure guage) that will fall to 0 lbs if your oil pressure falls below something like 8 -10 lbs. Running a quart low shouldn't hurt the motor or make it run bad. Not for a brief period anyway.

The only oil level sensor for your Ranger is you.

I would recommend you to check your oil level at least once a month, and keep the level in the cross hatched area of the dipstick.

If your truck was so low on oil that it couldn't keep the pressure up, you may have some internal damage.

 

[fastpakr]

One quart low certainly wouldn't cause the issues you're referring to. Was the Check Engine light on at any point in this process, and if not are you sure it works?

 

[dburton07]

Just took it for a spin. Stupid thing runs like nothing happened. The check oil light must be not working, but the check engine does and its only on when I put the key on "on" before starting it.

 

[fastpakr]

Sounds good. Not a lot you can do if there are no existing problems. You can check for stored codes, but I can't think of much more to try under the circumstances. Your gauges may be working just fine. If you do have a check oil light, it would be right on the line for tripping it at a quart low. You would still have had oil pressure, so you wouldn't have thrown a light there.

 

[dburton07]

Yeah I don't get it. I do have a check oil light, and usually when it's a quart low it comes on, but there was nothing and I didn't even think to look at the guage yesterday. Oh well, I'm going to check some other things too, maybe run the scanner on it when I get to my parents place this weekend to do some other work to it. Inspection time is very near

 

[Ranger Rod]

when sourcing an oil pan i was asked if i need one with sensor in the pan or not, just something to concider other other than one on the top rear of the motor.

 

[RumpRanger98]

wheres the oil going? if your burning a quart of oil a month, thats not really helping the running of your truck